15
Gunnar growled low at the circus the expedition launch had turned into. Too bad the wind had died down, and the sun glared brightly from the southern horizon. Maybe then what should have been an organized rollout wouldn’t have turned into the Mason Steele show.
Gunnar glared at the reporters still peppering Mason with questions as Gunnar checked the straps holding down the gear in his sled. Maybe he was being too harsh. He liked Mason. Respected the man and all he’d done. But all this fanfare grated on Gunnar, making him nervous.
Distractions bred mistakes.
Mistakes lost lives.
Wasn’t that what he’d drilled into himself so many years ago? Just because he wasn’t dodging bullets didn’t mean those statements weren’t still true. The Arctic sea didn’t give a rip about one’s celebrity status. The next 1,301 miles to the North Pole would take constant vigilance to get all five of them and the dogs home safely.
Gunnar stared out across the vast white that stretched before them. What if that Katie Cullens chick was right? Most of the last fifteen years he’d been in the Middle East sandbox from hell or the sweltering jungles of Hades. Rarely had a mission taken him to the farthest tips of the hemispheres. What if he couldn’t keep everyone safe? Couldn’t anticipate trouble and work around it? Maybe it was a mistake for him to come along.
Glancing over at the others, Gunnar squinted at Mason’s dogs. They lunged against the leads, anticipating the departure that should’ve happened already if Mason wasn’t so consumed with landing on the evening news. Gunnar didn’t like the way they were ratcheting up their excitement. All the dogs were riled up.
Yet, they all had to wait, since Mason wanted to lead the charge. Being the majority funder for the expedition gave him the say in that. It didn’t give him the right to let down his guard, though.
“Can we go already?” Sunny yelled behind him, her exasperation mirroring his own.
Gunnar turned around and cupped his hands over his mouth to be heard above the noise. “Celebrities.”
Sunny rolled her eyes and shook her head.
As Gunnar turned back to get them moved out, Mason’s lead dogs lunged hard against their traces, dislodging the snowhook from the ice. The sled jerked out of Mason’s hand, almost toppling him. Gunnar stomped on his hook to reinforce it and motioned to a local to hold his sled. If they didn’t catch Mason’s team, who knew how far the dogs would go in their current state of mind?
Instead of jetting off across the sea, the dogs veered to Julie’s dog team, just ahead and to the side of them. Gunnar shouted and sprinted across the ice as snarls and angry barking filled the air. Julie rushed into the middle of the dogfight, pushing the animals apart, and Gunnar’s heart nearly exploded in his chest. Those dogs could turn on her in an instant.
Grabbing dogs by the harness, he yanked and pulled them apart. Mason finally clued in to something other than himself and helped. When the two sleds were separated and Clark was helping Mason move his sled away, Gunnar turned to Julie and stepped close. She bent over her lead dog that had gotten the brunt of the attack and examined his flank.
“You okay?” Gunnar crouched by the next dog in line and looked him over.
Julie huffed out a sigh of relief, patting her lead dog on the side. “We’re good.”
“That shouldn’t have happened.” He jerked to standing, stepping closer.
Pulling her hood off, she yanked her mittens back on. “There’s just a lot of excitement right now. Things will settle down once we’re on the ice.”
He shook his head, not believing what she’d said. Her dogs could’ve been injured. She could’ve been attacked. And it was okay?
Heck no.
If they were going to survive this expedition, they all had to be on one hundred percent all the time.
“Gunnar, really.” Julie placed her hand on his arm. “It’s okay. All of this, all these people, are here to be a part of something amazing. Mason is giving them that, the chance to be a part of history. Once we get going, he’ll focus.”
Gunnar put his hand over hers. “You could’ve been hurt.”
Her smile at him nearly took him to his knees. “I’ve been breaking up dog fights since I was five. This was an easy fix.”
“Everyone okay?” Mason sucked in air as he approached.
“Yeah,” Julie answered as Gunnar shook his head and clenched his teeth.
He should just let it go. Get on the trail and forget it ever happened. Years of vigilance and focused dedication wouldn’t allow him to leave it be.
“What are you doing?” Gunnar dropped his voice so the people gathered around wouldn’t hear. “The expedition starts now, not after we leave this crowd. Not when we get past this first easy stretch and hit pressure ridges. Now. Your lack of diligence could’ve cost Julie and your dogs, and then where’d your expedition be?”
“Gunnar, it’s all right.” Julie’s hand was back on his arm as Mason stared Gunnar down.